Critical Mass & Open Streets Events

In the past two weeks Urban Street Window Works has participated in two separate but equally awesome events that go on here in Chicago. First, we attended the critical mass. It was personally the first time I had attended this event and it was crazy! I have never been apart of such hysteria and fun. Everyone met down at Daley Plaza with their bike and as anticipation and excitement grew so did the size of the crowd. There was probably somewhere around 2-3,000 riders when we left Daley Plaza for the route. For those of you who don’t know what the critical mass ride is it’s a monthly bike ride….the last Friday of the month where cyclists take over the road from the cars for a designated route. While on the ride car drivers emotions seemed to go from frustration to enjoyment at the sight of so many cyclists. The whole way cyclists shout to the passer by’s and cars alike “Happy Friday” some even responded back with the same remark. We rode a 13 mile south side loop this ride but the rides do change every month It was real fun to raise awareness for cyclists and to see the diversity in people and bikes that share this beautiful city of Chicago. I look forward to venturing out again into the heart of the city on my cargo bike again repping Urban Street Window Works.

The next event was Open Streets. There were two different locations for this event one down in the loop and another in Wicker Park/Bucktown. Scott and his family and myself and my family enjoyed what essentially is a ginormous block party. They shut down about a two mile stretch of Milwaukee Avenue and let the people play in the streets. There were bikes, dogs, strollers, skateboards, you name it. It was one of my favorite events the city puts on that I have been to. We ran into a bunch of friends and just had a really grand time. We talked to lots of bike enthusiasts about out Bullit bikes and I think I had about 10 different people take pictures of me on my bike. We also were able to get a few solid leads for the business side of things as well. Overall, both of these events proved to be fun and successful in promoting cycling and active lifestyles as well as our business…..Urban Street Window Works. Thanks for reading.

The Bike Evangelist

Ryan

They Have Arrived

After weeks six weeks of dreaming up the concept of Urban Street Window Works Scott and I are excited to say that our brand new Larry vs Harry bikes are finally here. We cannot believe how gracious God has been to us through this entire process and how faithful He continues to be. We are especially indebted to our investors and for all of the support we have been shown by those around us. Ahhhhh The bikes are here!

So on Friday around 12:45pm two huge boxes showed up at my apartment here in Chicago and I quickly texted Scott to get over to my place. We took a bunch of pictures as it felt like Christmas for me…like an awesome present was waiting under the tree. I was so full of excitement the night before the bikes arrived I could barely sleep. We unveiled the bikes from the boxes and they were ready to ride courtesy of Joel and Splendid Cycles of Portland, Oregon. Scott and I were about to ride around the neighborhood for our first ride when a neighbor asked what the bikes were and how we would be using them. We told him that we were starting a complete window service company via cargo bike. He instantly gave us his card and asked us to come give him a quote for his restaurant and bar he owns! This was exactly our hope when purchasing these specific bikes.

Scott and I then went out to do our regular weekly cleanings and at almost every job we were asked for a card and engaged in many conversations about our business and how awesome it was! It was uber encouraging that without even any of our branding on the bikes yet people were already responding to our concept. We are super excited to get our branding put on the boxes in front of the bike next week and see how it goes.

P.S. If you are in the Chicago area this upcoming Friday August 31st we are going to be riding in the critical mass ride as our “grand opening”. Come out and join us for a ride and some drinks afterwards.

The Bike Evangelist

Ryan

Be Who You Are.

I read an interesting article in Forbes Magazine about branding today. Essentially the gentleman who wrote the article said be yourself. He told his journey from a suit and tie wearing CEO to a Levis and Converse wearing busineesman. What a transformation! That is what we aspire to at Urban Street Window Works to be ourselves and allow for transparency. We want our customers and our vendors to see who we are and what we stand for. We don’t want to be formed by culture but rather be who we are and allow for the culture of business to adapt to that. We wan’t to be innovative and forward in our thinking. We look forward to our own journey and to the transformation that is going to take place within the confines of our brand…Urban Street WIndow Works. Check us out.

 

The Bike Evangelist.

Ryan.

World.

We are Urban Street…a bicycle based complete window care company located in the heart of the Bucktown here in Chicago. We have just recently started to focus on commercial storefronts here in the city and have seen a great demand for our services in a very short time. It has been very encouraging to see the response! Some of our already established clients in the city include Ipsento Coffee, Riley,and (7) Starbucks. We will be providing our clients with routine window washing, graffiti removal, and graffiti protection…all essential elements in keeping our city looking beautiful!

We are attempting to change the industry of window care. Our competitors for glass in Chicago, generally speaking, are “one bucket wonders” and established cleaning service companies. We want to be different. We want to bring an urban feel to the urban storefront market. Our goal is to align our brand with the brand being promoted by the storefronts we clean. We will be uniformed with Chrome biking gear as it speaks to the urban culture as well enables our employees to ride bicycles around the city all day. The bicycles we will be riding around will set us apart as well. We are in the process of obtaining Bullitt cargo Bikes made by bike manufacturer Larry vs Harry out of Copenhagen. These cargo bikes will allow us to travel with all the required tools necessary for the job without any of the carbon emission for our beautiful city of Chicago. Also for all of you stuck in traffic all day long we won’t be in your way by biking, which is my preferred mode of transportation in the city. We are eco and traffic friendly! We want to partner with the cities green urban mobility movement, promoting a culture of caring for the city by riding bicycles and allowing the city’s storefronts to shine.

Anyways I guess that’s enough for now….we look forward to serving the needs of our community one storefront, one neighborhood and one great city at a time.

The Bike Evangelist

Ryan